Mrs. Rajavi declares her readiness to travel to Baghdad for talks with the Government of Iraq at the presence of UN Secretary General’s Representative to Iraq, US Secretary of State’s Special Advisor on Ashraf, Special Advisor to Baroness Ashton on Ashraf, Vice-president of the European Parliament, President of the Delegation for Relations with Iraq at the European Parliament and the lawyers of Ashraf.
NCRI – Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, welcomed the peaceful resolution of the Ashraf crisis and repeated her readiness to visit Baghdad immediately to engage in discussions with the Iraqi government on arrangements to implement the plan for the peaceful resolution of Ashraf crisis and to ensure the minimum guarantees for the safe and security of 400 Ashraf residents as they relocate to Camp Liberty.
The talks should be held in presence of Ambassador Dan Fried, Special Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State on Ashraf; Martin Kobler, the UNSG Representative to Iraq; Ambassador Jean de Ruyt, Special Adviser to Baroness Ashton on Ashraf; Dr. Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-president of the European Parliament; Struan Stevenson, President of European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq; and lawyers of Ashraf.
Mrs. Rajavi noted that she had already made this proposal to the Government of Iraq through the United Nations and U.S. officials, but had not yet received any response. Pressuring the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the Iranian Resistance to accept inhumane conditions that are demands of the Iranian regime, are unacceptable, she emphasized, especially when fraught with distortions, misrepresentations and falsifications.
Commenting on Wednesday’s remarks by Prime Minister Maliki, Mrs. Rajavi said: “If Mr. Maliki, as he says, truly seeks the departure of PMOI from Iraq, he should have not wasted any time in the past four months and should have immediately had accepted that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees start its work in Ashraf to reaffirm the residents’ refugee status in order to resettle them in third countries.”
“Mr. Maliki claims that the PMOI has invaded an Iraqi city named Ashraf. However he conveniently forgets to acknowledge that the residents had turned this previously arid and barren piece of land into a city during the past 25 years of hard work and enormous costs, and that they had certain rights.”
“More importantly,” Mrs. Rajavi said, “Mr. Maliki deliberately remained silent about attacks on Ashraf in the past three years, including massacres of July 2009 and April 2011, in which 47 residents were killed and 1071 were wounded. Neither did he mention that 12 residents had died due to lack of access to proper medical services. Instead, he referred to the terrorist designation of the PMOI by the U.S. and the clerical regime. Ironically, today the European Court of Justice categorically rejected any claim that the PMOI was terrorist.”
“It seems, in his own words, the only red line for Mr. Maliki is refraining from ‘inflicting any harm,’ and upsetting the clerical regime.”
Mrs. Rajavi added: “Human rights principles and international law make forcible relocation illegal and the UN Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, the UN High Commission for Refugees, the International Committee of Red Cross, UN Assistance Mission in Iraq and majorities in more than 30 parliaments have reiterated this fact.” Nevertheless, underscoring that that the GOI had not accepted the protection of Ashraf residents at Camp Liberty by the U.S., the Blue Helmets, EU forces or even private U.S. security companies, Mrs. Rajavi said that upon the requests of the UN and the U.S., she had asked the residents of Ashraf to accept in principle to relocate to Camp Liberty, with the minimum guarantees for their security and well-being and improvement in their conditions; the minimum humanitarian and legal guarantees that have not yet received positive response from the GOI.”
The President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, stated that the following are the minimum humanitarian and legal guarantees:
1. Safe and secure transfer of each and every one of Ashraf residents, without exception, to Camp Liberty with their vehicles and moveable property under international observation;
2. 24/7 monitoring by the UN and the U.S. until the resettlement of the last person to the third countries;
3. Initiation of UNHCR work;
4. Iraqi forces shall be stationed outside of fenced area of the new location to ensure security and tranquility, particularly for nearly 1,000 Muslim women;
5. Ending the siege against, and halting any persecution and harassment of, the residents and the annulment of forged warrants of arrests without exception; and
6. Selling of the fixed properties of the residents under UN supervision and reimbursing it to the residents to pay for their security, logistical expenses and transfer to third countries.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
December 21, 2011
